Refrigeration systems are widely used in commercial, industrial and residential applications for cold storage and air conditioning. Routine maintenance of refrigeration systems often involves the re-supplying of fluid which may have been lost as a result of a leak in the unit. Grocery stores have approximately 2,500 to 3,000 Schrader maintenance ports in their refrigeration systems. Every time a refrigeration technician gauges up to a suction/liquid line they will lose refrigerant through the Schrader valve and the same thing will happen when the technician removes his/her gauges. Anytime that you work on the existing maintenance port valve system it will leak some refrigerant.
The handling and storage of all refrigeration fluids has become a very important subject and it is now considered a hazardous material per EPA and must be handled with care and disposed of properly. If a quantity of fluid is collected it must be returned to the manufacturer for proper disposal.
The Schrader valve (also called American valve) is a type of pneumatic tire valve used on virtually every motor vehicle in the world today. The Schrader company, for which it was named, was founded in 1844 by August Schrader. The original Schrader valve design was patented in the United States in 1893. The Schrader valve consists of a valve stem into which a valve core is threaded, and is used on virtually all automobile tires and motorcycle tires and most wide rimmed bicycle tires. The valve core is a poppet valve assisted by a spring.
In addition to tube and tubeless tires, Schrader valves of varying diameters are used on many refrigeration and air conditioning systems to allow servicing, including recharging with refrigerant; by plumbers conducting leak-down pressure tests on pipe installations; as a bleeding and test port on the fuel rail of some fuel injected engines; on bicycle air shock absorbers to allow adjustment of air pressure according to the rider's weight; and in the buoyancy compensator (BC) inflators of SCUBA systems where the ability to easily disconnect an air hose (even underwater) without the loss of tank air is critical. Schrader valves are also widely used in high-pressure hydraulic systems on aircraft. Many domestic fire extinguishers use an internal valve identical to a Schrader valve, but with a lever on top to enable quick release of the pressurized content.
A Schrader valve consists of an externally threaded hollow cylindrical metal tube, typically of nickel plated brass. In the center of the exterior end is a metal pin pointing along the axis of the valve stem; the pin's end is approximately flush with the end of the valve body. All Schrader valves used on tires have threads and bodies of a single standard size at the exterior end, so caps and tools generally are universal for the valves on all common applications. The core of the valve can be removed or tightened with a tool.
Industrial Schrader valves are available in different diameters and valve core variants and are used in refrigeration, propane, and a variety of other uses. In Schrader valves the air chuck must depress the spring-loaded pin before air can flow during inflation.
Various types of modulating valves, such as incrementally position-able valves, are widely used in refrigerant circuits for refrigeration and air-conditioning systems. For instance, modulating valves are frequently used at nodes of diverging loops of circuits to provide refrigerant for heat reclaim or for defrosting evaporators of refrigeration display units. Such valves are also used in split condensers and hot-gas applications. These valves are used to control the ratios of refrigerant conveyed to the various elements of the circuits or to control the flow of refrigerant through the lines. The modulating action of the valves prevents water hammer in the refrigerant lines, which could have adverse effects on the various elements of such circuits. Mueller™ Refrigeration Co. provides such modulating valves, under the name Cycle Master™.
However, the modulating valves of refrigerant circuits are subjected to the harsh conditions typical to circuits. For instance, the refrigerant in refrigerant circuits is at relatively high temperatures and fluctuates between large temperature variations. Furthermore, the refrigerant is compressed to relatively high pressures, and the modulating valves are often employed to create pressure drops in the circuits. Finally, the refrigerants typically known and used are often of a corrosive nature.
For these reasons, some modulating valves have been known to leak at the stem. A plurality of negative effects results from such leaks. For instance, substantial losses of refrigerant can cause inefficient refrigeration cycles and shutdowns. Furthermore, the refrigerants are often harmful to the environment, and refrigerant losses to the environment must be prevented per EPA. Finally, downtimes are very costly and are risky as the contents of the refrigeration display units cannot be subjected to temperature increases or decreased without the risk of being fouled.
Numerous innovations for Leak Protection Devices have been provided in the prior art described as follows. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they differ from the present design as hereinafter contrasted. The following is a summary of those prior and patents most relevant to the application at hand, as well as a description outlining the difference between the features of the present invention and those of the prior art.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,874,753 of Dubé et. al describes a sealing device for a modulating valve of the type having a valve body defining a flow passage, and inlet and outlets, a valve displaceable in the flow passage, and an actuator having an actuator rod rotatably coupled to the valve for displacing the valve in the flow passage. The sealing device comprises a body surrounding the actuator rod. A connector is adapted to secure the body of the sealing device to the valve body. Seals are provided between the body of the sealing device and the actuator rod, and between the body of the sealing device and the valve body, to prevent fluid flow there between. The body of the sealing device and the seals are adapted to conceal and contain fluid leaks, whereby no fluid is lost due to a leaking modulating valve.
This patent describes a sealing device for a modulating valve but does not incorporate the unique feature of using two different styles of valves to control the loss of refrigerant during the needed maintenance operations the way that the Multiple Valve Refrigerant Leak Protection Device does.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2013/0291976 A1 of Chang describes a quick release coupling that includes a socket defining a first passage in a connection port thereof, a locking member mounted in a front of the end of the socket and adapted for locking an inserted external male mating connector, an air valve control device mounted if a rear end of the socket, and a leak-proof device, which includes a stopper mounted in the front end of the socket and defining an axially extending second passage and a transversely extending third passage and a plurality of gasket rings mounted around the stopper at two opposite lateral sides of the third passage for allowing fluid communication between the first passage and the second and third passage or blocking the first passage from the second and third passage after movement of the stopper relative to the socket between two positions.
This patent describes a quick release coupling that has a common tendency of leaking. The Multiple Valve Refrigerant Leak Protection Device solves this problem by using two common widely used valves incorporated into one single device.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2013/0277008 A1 of Ishikura et al. describes a liquid leakage prevention device, liquid leakage prevention method and liquid cooling system. In a liquid cooling system having a structure in which a joint is attached or detached while inserting or removing a card board, when a liquid from a connection portion of the joint, the leaked liquid confined within housing is prevented from spilling out and scattering to surrounding electronic components when the card board is disconnected. The liquid cooling system includes male and female joints, and housings that fix those joints to each other. A water absorptive material is disposed on an inner wall of the housing of the male joint, and a seal member is disposed on an inner wall of the housing of the female joint, and a seal member is disposed on an inner wall of the housing of the female joint. The liquid cooling system includes a liquid leakage detection function. When the liquid cooling detects the liquid leakage, the liquid cooling system stops the operation of the pump, and prevents the liquid from being further leaked.
This patent describes an involved process but does not use the simple method of incorporating two common widely used valves incorporated into one single device used in the Multiple Valve Refrigerant Leak Protection Device.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the Multiple Valve Refrigerant Leak Protection Device in detail it is to be understood that the design is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangement, of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The Multiple Valve Refrigerant Leak Protection Device is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present Multiple Valve Refrigerant Leak Protection Device. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent construction insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present application.